Changes to Pukes team, iād go for BOāD at 12, earls in, Luke on the wing and Boss at scrum half with Stringer on bench. Boss for my money is most improved player in Ireland, and has more of a physical presence than Reddan for Boks or All-Blacks.
BOāDās best work is mostly on the defensive side these days, and to be honest i donāt think the 12-13 thing matters that much anymore anyway and the positions are inter-changable. I just think having Luke, Earls, Kearney, BOāD, Bowe and Sexton on the pitch at the same time is quite possibly the most exciting back line we could ever have dreamed of.
Sean Oā Brien deserves his chance, no doubt, as does cronin, and as mentioned i think its time for those 3 to really man up and show what they are made of.
Maybe itās just me but while I think Earls is an exciting talent I donāt think heās an international centre yet. I reserve the right to change my mind in an instant but Iād have both DāArcy and Wallace ahead of him at present. He just seems a bit loose there at the moment when I see him play. Has all the ability and heās not a bad defender but heās not as disciplined or structured as youād like. Obviously that has its advantages in his unpredictability but there are times when you need solidity more than flair and I havenāt seen enough of that from Earls yet to really trust him.
I disagree in the sense that i think he is an International standard player, but iām not disagreeing with your assesment of him in regards to his structure/discipline.
Better player than Wallace (not a Munster thing) by a little bit IMO, who has improved in last season or so both defensively and with his decision making . Obviously neither have achieved what DāArcy has, but i would have them both ahead of DāArcy right now. Think in time Earls , when he brushes up on the few things you mentioned, will be one of our most important players.
I wonder would a move to France or England bring Wallace to the next level, i think heās is being fucked by Ulster/Kidney/poor team mates.
[quote=ācaoimhaoin, post: 528488ā]
I disagree in the sense that i think he is an International standard player, but iām not disagreeing with your assesment of him in regards to his structure/discipline.
Better player than Wallace (not a Munster thing) by a little bit IMO, who has improved in last season or so both defensively and with his decision making . Obviously neither have achieved what DāArcy has, but i would have them both ahead of DāArcy right now. Think in time Earls , when he brushes up on the few things you mentioned, will be one of our most important players.
I wonder would a move to France or England bring Wallace to the next level, i think heās is being fucked by Ulster/Kidney/poor team mates.[/quote]
Ah I think heās international standard alright Kev but there are a lot of options in that backline and I just donāt think heās ready to play in the centre at that level. Having said that heās done enough of an apprenticeship on the wing so I wouldnāt really be suggesting he needs to learn there. I just wouldnāt have him top of the tree just yet.
Hard to make the comparison with Wallace because theyāre both so different. Certainly agreed that Wallaceās development has been hindered by mistreatment at provincial and international level. He has been selected out of position too regularly and in makeshift backlines too often. Iād send him to France ahead of England. Not sure thereās much to be learned in the Premiership. Their squad system fucks players up I think.
And finally agreed on Earls being very important for Ireland in the future. Wouldnāt have a huge problem with that time being now but I think DāArcy and Wallace in particular are owed a little bit of loyalty first.
As i said its not really going to matter that much, they switch around an awful lot now anyway. He is brilliant, but i would think a number of SH players are at his standard or higher at the moment. He doesnāt really have the amazing break anymore, compared to any of the 4 centres who played last saturday for instance.
Wallace for me. I like the added extras you get with him. Driscoll is still a world class 13 and should be left there until thereās a better 13 playing on these shores than him imo.
Donāt think Wallace has been treated well but at the same time he was our best player this summer and Kidney has played him more often than previous coaches. He has developed a very good relationship with Sexton and the two of them complement each other very well. Canāt understand how he wouldnāt be one of first names on the team sheet for Saturday really. If team is based on international form (which it really should be) then he is miles ahead of the other possible 12ās.
The Ireland management expect Brian OāDriscoll to be fit for Saturdayās GUINNESS Series opener against South Africa. A 30-man squad has gathered in Dublin ahead of Tuesdayās team announcement.
Share
Ireland team manager Paul McNaughton confirmed that the management will be working with a 30-man squad this week, as they prepare for the historic Aviva Stadium clash with the Springboks.
Of the panel originally selected for the GUINNESS Series, the players to miss out are Munster hooker Damien Varley and Leinsterās Mike Ross, Isaac Boss and Shane Horgan, who all lined out for their provinces over the weekend.
Brett Wilkinson, who came in as cover for the injured Marcus Horan, is not included, but the fit-again Luke Fitzgerald is in contention to feature against South Africa.
The uncapped Johne Murphy and Devin Toner are also pushing for selection, while long-serving captain Brian OāDriscoll is making encouraging progress in his recovery from a hamstring injury.
Speaking at a press conference in Dublin this morning, McNaughton said: "Everyone is primarily fully fit to go. Brian (OāDriscoll) will have a modified (training) run today, but weāre optimistic about him.
āWe expect him to be fit and available to be considered for selection. We hope heāll get to full participation (at training) tomorrow. Everybody else in the squad will train fully today.ā
IRELAND Squad (2010 GUINNESS Series v South Africa):
Forwards (16) -
Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster)
Tony Buckley (Shannon/Munster)
Tom Court (Malone/Ulster)
Sean Cronin (Buccaneers/Connacht)
Stephen Ferris (Dungannon/Ulster)
John Hayes (Bruff/Munster)
Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster)
Jamie Heaslip (Naas/Leinster)
Denis Leamy (Cork Constitution/Munster)
John Muldoon (Galwegians/Connacht)
Sean OāBrien (Clontarf/Leinster)
Donncha OāCallaghan (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Mick OāDriscoll (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Donnacha Ryan (Shannon/Munster)
Devin Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster) *
David Wallace (Garryowen/Munster)
Backs (14) -
Tommy Bowe (Ospreys)
Gordon DāArcy (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Gavin Duffy (Galwegians/Connacht)
Keith Earls (Thomond/Munster)
Luke Fitzgerald (Blackrock College/Leinster)
Rob Kearney (UCD/Leinster)
Johne Murphy (Young Munster/Munster) *
Ronan OāGara (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Brian OāDriscoll (UCD/Leinster)
Eoin Reddan (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Jonathan Sexton (St. Maryās College/Leinster)
Peter Stringer (Shannon/Munster)
Andrew Trimble (Ballymena/Ulster)
Paddy Wallace (Ballymena/Ulster)
it will be a horses for courses decision, larryā¦DāArcy is physically far more suited to taking on the Boks and their hard running backs from a defensive viewpointā¦would rather Wallace there myself from an attacking viewpoint as he gives us more variations in our attacking play but wouldnāt be surprised if they went for DāArcy
MOD :lol: i presume Leo isnt seen as matchfit yet for this level?
A lil conservative perhaps from Kidney, butI guess this is the game they feel is winnable. Its a good team and Wallace is still a fine 7, the rastamans time will come.
